Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I've been a guest at several University of Nebraska classes during the current academic year--a little more than usual. Yesterday was surely my last one, since dead week and finals loom on the horizon. I was invited to speak to a class at the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management. Formerly known as the J.D. Edwards Honors Program in Computer Science and Management, the name change occurred with Jeffrey Raikes retired as President of Microsoft's Business Division, and made a huge gift to the School.

The Raikes School is a very interesting program, and one that I've been curious about, so the visit was something I had been looking forward to. My curiosity began about a decade ago, when the parking lot north of the UNL Student Union became a gorgeous new building, the Kaufman Academic and Residential Center. The Kauffman center was both living space and classroom space for the honors students selected for the program.

The building certainly provides quite an environment, and I was most impressed. I was even more impressed, though, by the students, who listened intently, peppered me with questions, and hung around to continue the dialog until I had to take off. The class I spoke with was about 60 juniors and seniors in the Design Studio, a class in which the students take on a client and develop computer applications for management. Their showcase is scheduled for Friday, and I intend to see if I can bend the schedule to drop by for a peak at what they've been creating this year.

My thanks to student Nate Lowry, who invited me and made the arrangements for my visit.

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